In 2021 a clever and original pasta shape called Cascatelli won Time Magazine’s Invention of the Year.
It’s been developed by Dan Pashman, the host of the Sporkful food podcast, and it ranks high in the 3 desirable characteristics of pasta: Sauceability, Forkability, and Toothsinkability. If you think I made those up, Google them:)
So where’s the trap?**
It excites the wrong people.
99.999% of people buy their pasta on “autopilot” while cruising the local supermarket, and will continue enjoying their inferior, unforkable spaghetti in the future.**
Yes, the new thing tops the charts in the clever, objective criteria the creator made up and the principle is sound. But unless it’s also backed by years of concrete market building funded by a major investment, by 2050 it’s going to end up as a question on Jeopardy, and nothing else.
I’ve seen people get excited over inventions like this, and invest their time, hopes, and funds thinking that this will change everything. I’ve especially seen that in my own mirror.
Even if the pasta seems great to people who know and care about sauce-to-bite ratios, they are a minority.
I’m not writing this to crush anyone’s dreams. I’ve seen people like you and me make major changes to markets, but never by “preaching to the choir”. When you offer something new, presenting it in a way that most people will understand is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.